Metaphorical Leap
by SinisterApollo
Summary: They somehow managed to rescue Tia Harribel from Hueco Mundo. They didn't explain how and Keigo didn't ask why. He just opened the door and let her in. [Set during the Quincy Arc, highlighting Keigo Asano's life and bits of his time during the 17 month time-skip. This is a slice-of-life piece of work, or as slice-of-life bleach can get. Ratings may change. First story so R&R?]
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

It was dark, around 2 am? 3? Keigo didn't know. All he knew was that it was way too early for this shit, and that he might have to empty his father's alcohol cabinet sooner than he'd expected, legality be damned. Just what the _hell_ was Kurosaki thinking?

Yeah, it was Kurosaki now; Keigo refused to acknowledge the carrot top as his friend at the moment, despite the lack of his actual presence in this situation. In fact, ever since that long haired alienated bastard hijacked his town and almost killed his friends' and his life, Keigo concluded that every unnatural occurrence in Karakura lead to Ichigo and his stupid black shinigami robes, whether he was actually there or not. It took Keigo and his friends seventeen months to recuperate and all of that seemed to be taken away from them by that knock on the door he'd received at the brink of dawn.

His parents were away again, so that was a thing less to worry about. Mizuho was still asleep, far too tired from President work and University applications and _thank god_ for that, or else she would have kicked him into next year for such an unnecessary turn of events (because apparently everything was Keigo's fault).

Unnecessary indeed, because what displayed itself in front of the Asano residence were none other than two extremely familiar shinigami and a bundle covered in a red blanket. Both men looked like they had seen better days, in fact, they looked utterly horrifying in Keigo's opinion and the teenager wondered just what Ichigo had gotten into this time.

The strawberry-head hadn't shown up at school for a long time now. Far too long for Keigo to even keep count, so he stopped worrying. Ichigo was a tough kid. He made it the last time, he'll come back soon. That was what Keigo had been thinking throughout his absence, but began to question the confidence he had in the shinigami... hollow... _whateve_r Ichigo was now, as soon as he saw the weary faces of Madarame and Yumichika.

"What is it now?" he complained.

"Let us in and we'll explain." Ikkaku's voice sounded gruff and urgent, but Keigo was having none of it. Not this time.

"You actually had the courtesy to ring the doorbell this time? Should have used the window... I mean I can live without having to wake up at three in the freaking morning to entertain your sorry asses." The teenager yawned as he said this, not really caring what spurt out of his mouth. They were way past the freeloading-frenimy business. Keigo was tired.

"Just let us in. It's urgent." The 3rd seat didn't argue, and sounded almost pleading. Keigo raised an eyebrow and his focus shifted to the bald-head to Yumichika and then to the bundle in their hands. He pointed to the red cover.

"Tell what's in that first."

"Keigo-"

"No, I'm sick of you guys barging into my life like it's your own! I need an explanation_ right fucking now_, at my doorstep or so_ help me_ I will kick your asses to hell and back, shinigami or not-"

"_Please._" That stopped the brunette from his frustrated rant and stare at the duo. Ikkaku never pleaded. Well, Keigo hadn't seen him do so at least. Beside him, Yumichika said nothing, just kept his gaze planted to the floor.

Sighing in defeat, Keigo Asano carefully opened the door while trying not to make a sound and ushered the two of them in.


	2. Chapter 01

**Song Inspiration: Hey Brother - Avicii**

**Chapter 01: Brothers In Arms**

* * *

**_18 months ago._**

_The city was bustling with such busy force, such busy energy, that Keigo could only stare. His chocolate brown eyes widened, making the little specks of gold and olive in his irises slightly more prominent in the strong rays of the scorching sun as they wandered over the olympian sized buildings. The sky-scrapers touched the clouds, from what the teenager could see, making him feel smaller than he already was. His head turned from one direction to another at such alarming speed, Keigo thought he might break his neck; but_ Tokyo city_ was just so_ happening_ and so full of life that it was hard to not be awestruck._

_Where had this city been all his life?_

_Oh right, it had _always_ been there. It was Karakura that no one knew about. He was the boy from the suburbs after all._

_It was broad daylight, naturally, or else Keigo would have been a full-blown idiot to enter the city in the dark (although even then, he doubted whether it would be considered dark after all) and there was the so much noise, so many people, so much... _muchness_ that the teenager almost forgot why he was there in the first place._

_Clutching the piece of paper tightly in his hands, Keigo re-read the address and looked up at the monstrous building in front of him. It was lustrous, absolutely sleek and the sophistication reeked from its very walls. _

_All of a sudden, Keigo felt inferior, not only to the buildings, but to the people as well. Corporate suits entered and left the doors of the scraper faster than he could dodge Ichigo's punches, walking briskly, confidently as they made their way to another day of their routinely six-digit-Yen-per-month white collar jobs. Keigo gulped and slowly, carefully took a step towards the sliding doors. He could see the reception desk inside; it was large and white, made from possibly the most expensive wood out there. Even the edges of the large chandelier that hung from the endless ceiling seemed to dominate the 15 year old. The very idea of entering such a grand place that held no space for people like him seemed to terrify the teenager._

_'I can't do this.' he thought, gritting his teeth. 'It's too dramatic, I mean everyone can cope right? It's not a_ compulsion!_ Even Arisawa is perfectly fine. Silly me, acting all dramatic over something that could have possibly been trivial as hell. I don't need this. I really really truly absolutely don't need this...' _

_Picking up the pieces of his cracking resolve, Keigo began turning around to head back to the subway station when he heard a deafening roar. _

_Keigo halted, beads of cold sweat accumulating on his forehead as he felt himself tremble in fright. He scanned the crowd frantically. Apparently, no one had heard the monster, heck no one seemed to even be _bothered_ by it even if they did. Keigo tried calming himself down, taking slow, deep breaths and attempted to sense any uncanny pressure around the area. When he felt none, he gave the skyline a once-over before sighing in relief._

_It took a few seconds for the teenager to realise that there might have not been a monster in the first place. Maybe, the city was hollow free and it was just him._

_'It's just you.' his conscience began softly. 'You don't want to do this, but you should. You need it.'_

_Keigo really, really hated his conscience sometimes. Or whenever it actually had the sense to pop up into his mind. _

_'Enter the building Keigo. You can do this.'_

_Keigo huffed in annoyance, but he knew it was the right thing to do. Inhaling a fresh breath of air, the brunette straightened his back and headed towards the doors of the large tower._

_He made it to the reception desk, where a young lady in her mid-twenties was talking between phone-calls. The teenager couldn't help but check her out. She wore slim glasses that complimented her oval face, her skin was freshly caked with even make-up and she wore blood-red lipstick. She also had adorned a black deep-necked shirt under a white blazer and her red-painted nails clutched the receiver as she put it back on the desk. Keigo's eyes lingered to her lips a little longer before his eyes met hers and she began speaking._

_"How may I help you?"_

_His mouth suddenly went dry. She sounded so professional, so mature that Keigo was stumped in awe. Preventing his brain to scatter any longer, the teenager put on a little, nervous smile and replied "Um... I-I'm looking for the TCS department..." he trailed off, not really knowing what more he could say to her._

_"Right, their on the 14th and 15th floor. If you already have an appointment just go on to the 15th."_

_He sighed. "Thank you." With that Keigo Asano turned towards the lift and made his way to the 15th floor._

_After a good minute of awkward elevator music and pompous old women in cashmere (It was so fucking hot!) and 10 inch stilettos, Keigo made it to the 15th floor without tripping himself on his feet. _

_The corridor was short, and in front of him presented itself another reception desk for TCS specifically and numerous leather sofas on the side. The floor was carpeted in a comforting coffee brown and Keigo immediately felt relief flood through him. He didn't know what, but there was something about this place that wasn't as ominous as the rest of the building. He walked up to the desk and inquired about his appointment._

_"You name, Sir?" _

_"Asano Keigo."_

_"Just a second." The clerk muttered before typing away his name. When his result popped up the receptionist finally looked up from the monitor. "...Ah, you're fifteen years old?"_

_"Y-Yes." Keigo replied shakily. He had filled the form and ensured that it was signed by a parent of guardian. The way he did it, obviously required more morally questionable inquiries. Let's just say his family had no idea that he bunked school to come here._

_"Your forms have been signed by your sister, am I correct?"_

_"Yes." The brunette replied with more conviction. "But they couldn't make it, they're out of town." -and I've also only fed my sister's and my phone number, so there's that. Keigo thought but decided to keep that vital piece of information to himself._

_"Right, please be seated. Your appointment will begin shortly."_

_Keigo waited a good five minutes before he was called into another space. The moment he entered the room, he was hit by the smell of the most comforting fragrance by incense he had ever smelt. It was sandalwood, that was for sure, but with a tinge of aloe vera, maybe a little lemongrass too, if he breathed _just_ enough in-_

_"Your profile said that you weren't allergic to anything so I took it upon myself to decorate the room. You don't mind?" a baritone voice snapped Keigo out of his trance and he turned to his left only to come face-to-face with a gentle looking man in his mid-forties, with shaven hair and thick rimmed glasses. He gave a small smile to the teenager which Keigo returned with a swift bow._

_'He looks a little like Madarame, if you remove the glasses...' Keigo thought, feeling a smile threatening to form on his lips. His face then fell the moment he realised that people like Madarame were the reason he was here in the first place. _

_He was brought back to reality when he saw the man actually waiting for an answer to his previous question. Slightly flustered, Keigo murmured a small "N-No."_

_The man only smiled back. It made Keigo relax a little, but it soon dawned on him that his _own_ presence was very much _in_ the office. He was actually here. _

_He was actually doing this. _

_The brunette was beginning to have a cardiac arrest with how sudden his thoughts seemed at that moment. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. Should he introduce himself? Wasn't that already written in his record? Should he just start stating his problems? Won't that be too selfish thoug-_

_"It seems you have a lot to say Asano-san. May I call you that?" the deep voice asked him calmly. The teenager could only stare. How could this man even know what he was thinking? But then Keigo remembered that he was as transparent as air on a hollow-free day._

_"Y-Yes sir." He replied hastily. The man chuckled._

_"You need not call me so formally. Since this session is mainly about me listening to your story, I doubt honorifics would be a problem. My name is Suzuki Katsushi by the way, and I will be your therapist for the next fifty minutes."  
_

_"I-I think I... Can I call you Counselor Suzuki? I think it will be..." the boy trailed off. It will be what? Easier? Nicer? Less complicated for both of them? Keigo's mind was a mess, he couldn't decide what he wanted to say, or whether he was ready for this in the first place. He felt dizzy, and thirsty, and maybe he should just go home and get some sleep-_

_"Have a seat Asano-san. Or do you wish to lie down?" Keigo sat instead and at the same time began observe where he actually would be spending his next hour. _

_The room was multiple shades of brown, but bright at the same time. There were a couple of plants near the large, glass window that displayed the Tokyo skyline, while the ceiling was lit with dim, yellow lights that, despite being completely unnecessary in the afternoon, actually suited the whole interior. The sofas were black while the actual couch used for the session was a pale beige. There was also a TV, Keigo noted, beside which was a door that he only assumed led to the bathroom while the other end, near the window, had a water purifier and multiple mugs. _

_Keigo suddenly wished he lived in the city. Life wasn't simple here, but surely stylish, and _definitely_ less supernatural._

_The counselor seated himself across the teenager, serenely studying the variety of emotions that passed his face, from fear to apprehension to longing; before grabbing a notepad and a pen and began speaking._

_"So Asano-san, could you tell me something about yourself in general?" _

_He saw the boy shift uncomfortably, seemingly contemplating his answer, weighing the words between his tongue before finally settling on one introduction. The brunette had suddenly begun smiling -no- _grinning _like a cheshire cat__ and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out (of course, it took a psychotherapist though) that it was just a loose, poorly attempted facade, as if the child wanted to shout to the world, but was afraid. Afraid of getting judged, afraid of being rejected._

_Afraid of being alone._

_"Alright!" Keigo began enthusiastically, gestures and all. "My name is Asano Keigo, freshman at Karakura High School. I like listening to latest pop-music, and pretty girls well... if you know what I mean," he emphasized " and I am _certainly _not a part of the top fifty in our school. It's such a disgrace! My best friend Mizuiro always takes my side but Ichigo, Inoue-san and even Sado made it to the first fifty! Whatever happened to friendship?! I mean I get it, Ishida-san is the topper of the school, the district even! But they don't have to follow his footsteps! And I barely get to hang out with them anymore, they're always going to places without me and Mizuiro! Of course Mizuiro has his girlfriends that he keeps on texting, but give a guy a break would ya? And then there's my sister. I mean cause my parents mostly aren't in town its mainly Mizuho and me but sometimes-" The sound of a throat-clearing brought Keigo out of his mini-rant that sounded so fake even to him, that he hardly thought the therapist would believe it. _

_Hell he _knew_ the man won't... but Keigo couldn't do it. He couldn't._

_He suddenly fell silent and Suzuki said nothing, just waited for him to continue. They spent the next two minutes in pin-drop silence, with Suzuki patiently waiting for his client while Keigo bit his bottom lip until it almost drew blood._

_He didn't want to go through this. It would mean opening up to a complete stranger about things that only he and his friends could see. About shinigami, and hollows... in fact he was pretty sure the next time he met this man, he'd probably be sent to a mental ward. _

_What was he supposed to do? How did everyone else do it? Why..._

_Why was any of this happening in the first place?_

_All the questions the teenager wanted to ask hung in the air like heavy lead, weighing down on his very existence. He knew he'd never get his answers from the counselor, because none of this was supposed to be real. None of this was supposed to happen in his almost-perfect life. He was supposed to have __fun. _

Ichigo_ was supposed to have fun, to live life as peacefully as he could. _Ichigo_ was supposed to here, in his place, not Keigo. _

_But it was just so hard, he couldn't cope. How could _they_ do it?_

_How?_

_"How?" He began slowly, his voice wavering. "How do they do it? How does _everyone_ do it?" the tremble in his voice along with its amplitude rose until he was half-shouting. "_How?!_"_

_"How does everyone do what Asano-san?" Suzuki asked softly._

_"How can they live like this? Like nothing ever happened? How can they pretend that everything is alright when it's not? Even Mizuiro and Tatsuki... They were there! They were there with me when he came and they still act like a bunch of happy-go-lucky monkeys in a freaking doughnut farm!" His eyes stung. No, he wasn't going to cry. Guys don't cry, he reminded himself. They're the ones supposed to be protecting their families, their friends..._

_'Let it go Keigo,' his conscience whispered so softly and presently that he almost felt it right in his ear. 'Let it go...'_

_A tear escaped. "W-What's worse is that I... I have to act like them too. I'm forced to feel like a light-hearted, laid-back teenager and pretend like e-everything's okay." He swallowed. "But it's not. It's not okay... _I'm_ not okay. No one is... and it _frustrates_ me to no end it just-" Keigo took a deep breath, his palms clammy and shaking, while his brows furrowed deeper in all that burdening pain. _

_Suzuki finally spoke again. "Why don't we start from the beginning, Keigo?" The use of his name calmed the teenager down a bit and he nodded._

_"It all started about three or four months ago when a girl named Rukia Kuchiki transferred to our school..."_

* * *

The door creaked open as the three figures entered the living room. Keigo tip-toed and switched on the dimmest light. The room illuminated itself with mere, glowing silhouettes of the two shinigami as they stood near the sofa.

"Well? Have a seat." Keigo offered kindly, or as kind as a sleep-deprived teenager could sound like. Yumichika nodded in negation.

"We need to go to your room. It's more private there."

The younger raised his eyebrows in suspicion and shook his head in defeat, leading them to his room (he thankfully remembered to switch off the light in the living room, or Mizuho would have his head for breakfast in the morning). He turned his table lamp on and asked them to take a seat, again.

"We don't have much time." Ikkaku explained.

"Give me a break." Keigo muttered, rolling his eyes. "You _never_ have much time. Just tell me what happened."

The shinigami duo looked at each other before sighing in defeat. Yumichika began this time.

"We... sort of... rescued someone from... somewhere... and we'd like..." he trailed off, nervously. Keigo was surprised, Yumichika was _never_ nervous, and Ikkaku was never this... _pushy._ Both men had their pride at stake, and what he'd learnt from the Squad crap at the Soul Society, they were supposed to be the most honourable shinigami or something.

"Alright, what is_ up_ with you two? Ever since you've come here, both of you are acting unnaturally out of character. Is the situation that bad or did ya'll fall on your heads?" Keigo snapped. 

Madarame now looked furious while Ayasegawa just huffed and the irrational part of Keigo was somewhat relieved that neither man had changed. The more rational part though, realised too late that he wasn't exactly the perfect host for this 3 am visit. "Sorry," he mumbled. "Its just that humans aren't particularly appreciative of guests at the devil's hours of the morning, kinda makes us paranoid about bad news. You can imagine why." he gestured at both of their tired stated and shrugged simply, sounding not very sorry at all. "Just... I know _everything_ that's happened, so cut the crap will ya?" A yawn escaped his lips.

"Okay, then. If _that's_ how you want it," Yumichika glared at the brunette. "We rescued an Espada from Hueco Mundo and we want you to keep her hidden since the Soul Society is under the radar of the Quincies."

Keigo stared.

Okay, this was a new turn of events. Since when did the Soul Society ask such favours? And Quincy... wasn't that was Ishida was? Quincy-pride and all that jazz about him being the last of his kind... there were more? And they were attacking the shinigami. So that meant Ishida...

His jaw dropped. Before he could form a coherent sentence, the 5th seat continued. "_Don't_ ask how, don't ask why... we don't have enough time to explain this, I'm sure they're already tracking us down. Just tell us where to put the Espada and we'll leave."

Keigo opened his mouth and closed it again. He didn't waste any more seconds though, because if they really were under the radar, then he'd be fried into next year as well. "Where's this Espada you speak of?" he asked instead.

When they kept quite, and shifted uncomfortably, the human noticed the blanket again. He pointed at it, horror-struck. "_That?_ That is the Espada? What the fuck happened to it?"

"She's in a state of coma... as you'd put it."

"_Fuck, _fuck, fuck, fuck! It's too early for this... Ugh!" he clutched the strands of his now, slightly sweaty hair and tried not to hyperventilate. "Ju- Just put her on the bed." he paused. "Wait... _her? _You're keeping a _woman_ in my room?" he asked incredulously.

"This is not the time to worry about it." Madarame sighed as he rolled the blanket open and placed the figure on his bed.

It then dawned on Keigo that the blanket wasn't red to begin with. It was a white blanket. What was red was the blood on it.

_So much blood._

Keigo's stomach gave an uncharacteristic flip, indicating that he may or may not have to empty its contents. The body... or whatever was left of it, had dried blood smeared over it. Her blond hair (or at least that's what Keigo thought it was), was damp with the same liquid, making it look like a light rust colour. Her face... _Oh God,_ her face was littered in deep gashes along with the rest of her body and her... clothes? The boy was pretty sure they material was hollow-bone. _Her_ hollow bone, and it was cracked. Apparently it hurts like a bitch when the hollow's mask or the bone area cracks, Keigo couldn't even begin to imagine what she'd be going through despite doing his little crash-course in Supernatural-in-Karakura-101. She was barely breathing, and her bronze skin was paler than a ghost. How was she going to survive in _his_ house?

"I... I need to go... out." Keigo internally gagged and gestured towards the door. The two shinigami nodded affirmatively. "Just fix her up before I come back and we'll talk t-then." He shuddered before almost running out of his room.

He reached the kitchen and turned the knob of the faucet above the sink. Keigo took a handful of water and splashed it on his face, panting slightly as he tried to erase the picture of the supposed monster from Hueco Mundo practically dying in his bedroom. He inhaled slowly, to even his breathing and tried distract himself from the current situation.

_'Think of your favourite song'_ A familiar baritone voice rang in his head. Keigo relaxed a little. _'Keep humming it, and ask yourself why it's you like it so much; you'll find newer meaning to your life by something this simple.' _

His taste in music changed from time to time, but right now, it seemed to be stuck at 'Hey Brother' for the past few days. Actually, it was either that or a somber number by the Gazette that he knew would draw tears from his eyes and possibly vomit from his stomach so he really didn't have much of a choice despite his lack of preferences in DJs. Something was better than nothing after all.

Keigo began humming, slowly at first, with his eyes closed, as he tried to imagine what his version of the song could be. Who would be there if he made the music video? Keigo chuckled, such a silly diversion this was, but when his shoulders seemed to relax further, Keigo decided he did, in fact, have an answer to that question.

Shaking his tired head at his silliness, Keigo decided it would take them some time to clean their guest up, so he did what he could do in that place, at that time. 

Approximately fifteen minutes had passed by the time Ikkaku and Yumichika were done with the room. They ensured the sensors were correct, the pipes were fixed and that there were no holes for air-bubbles in the IV-like machines. They even checked for traces of blood (Yumichika insisted that it didn't look beautiful if they didn't clear all the blood, Ikkaku almost pouted) and whether all the napkins, cottons and medical instruments were disposed off completely.

The 5th seat checked his pager. "We have 15 minutes before they locate us." He, along with his partner exited the room after giving it a thorough once-over.

When they reached the dark living room, the duo smelt something. Something that materialised in front of them in the form of a large container of fried rice. They stared as the brown haired teenager pushed the humongous box towards them.

"Eat." He said "Ya'll look like coughed up fur balls from a cat with genital herpes."

Ayasegawa made a face while Madarame growled. "You son of a bitch, you _actually_ cooked?"

The younger huffed. "It wasn't for you. I just needed a distraction that didn't get me killed by my sister while you two did... whatever to the body." The 3rd seat smirked.

"Yeah right."

"Fine then, starve for all I care. I just hope you haven't ruined my roo-" Ikkaku grabbed the warm container swiftly and rolled his eyes. Yumichika smirked.

"How very noble of you _Asano-san_."

"Well, I expect a detailed explanation in return. Nothing's free here."

At this both shinigami's expressions turned grave. "We can't right now Asano. There isn't much tim-"

"Yeah yeah, 'We're being tracked by the freaking CIA of the life-after-death world' I get it. Why do you think I packed up the food? I'm not that much of an idiot you know." 

Yumichika didn't remember when was the last time he had smiled genuinely, but he had to give credit to the boy. He wasn't as stupid as he looked after all.

"I know ya'll won't promise, but we'll talk about this the next time we meet. For now brief me up on how to keep my new pet from dying." Keigo continued.

"Y-yes" Yumichika started. "We got all the equipment from the 12th Squad-"

"Nicked it, actually" Ikkaku interrupted.

"_Anyway,_" The 5th seat glared at his partner. "Just don't touch anything except the IVs with the transparent stuff. We've labelled all the things that need to be refilled and written instructions are already there. Also, make sure that the regulator near on the wall above the bed shows 0.5, nothing more, nothing less. The moment it does, change it back to it's original level."

"What does it do?"

"Maintains her reiatsu. They shouldn't be able to detect her, so we've used suppressors all over the room and on us. These guys are freakin' smart, so we gotta be extra careful" Ikkaku explained.

_'That explains why I couldn't detect their reiatsu either'_ the human thought.

"Okay... if that's all..." Keigo sighed but blinked back up. "Wait, wasn't there that shop owner with the stripped hat who actually _knows_ this crap?"

"He's in trouble too. We're _all_ in deep shit man. You're the only one who won't come under direct suspicion."

"_Direct _suspicion?!"

"It's a long list kid" the shinigami chuckled. "Anyway, we better get going, we're already behind schedule." with that, the seated officers headed for the exit.

"Yeah, you do that. And Ikkaku? Yumi?" Keigo asked. Both shinigami turned from the door (Yumichika raised an eyebrow at the nickname). "Try not to die this time. I'm gonna need someone to explain this to my family."

Ikkaku grinned. "Will do. And uh... thanks man." he spoke genuinely, before both men Shunpo'd out of his house, leaving no trace that they were there in the first place.

Keigo smiled a tired smile. "Anytime, brother."

He turned back to his bedroom, switching off all the lights in the process (and ensuring the kitchen was clean, although Mizuho was bound to ask about the missing large tupperware), and closed the door to his personal space.

_'Well, not so personal anymore. There's a vegetable on my bed.'_

He looked around the walls of his room and figured that everything was just as Yumichika had described. Numerous IV-looking-machines took up maximum space of the room, although there was some space for him on the floor for sleeping, and a path to the washroom. The desk was littered with what looked like a truckload of medical liquids that, indeed had several labels on them.

'_Well, there goes my study time_' Keigo sighed as he wondered whether he'd have to research through all of the chemicals on the table before actually applying it on the patient... girl... thing. 

Speaking of the patient-girl-thing, the 17 year old glanced at the bed, or more so, the figure on the bed that had, much to his relief, been cleaned up. In fact if Keigo took a closer look, apart from the bandages, the lady looked quite divine in her own exotic way. 

Her hair was definitely blond, he realised, and her skin was sun-kissed in the most beautiful ways. The rest of her body was covered in new white sheets that those two shinigamis seemed to have pulled out of their asses (along with every other equipment here. How did they carry all of that? Or was it some weird device from the other world again?), but Keigo could still make out that she had been blessed with the looks of a goddess back in her human days. Even when the teen's eyes remained fixed on her face, he found new things along the way.

Like her full lips and the peacock green markings on either side of her cheekbones that ran down her jaw, ending just above the end of what could possibly be burn marks... or that was the only way Keigo could explain in intricate detail a woman's beauty if he had to... it was a lousy attempt, but Keigo thought that words were simply not enough to give justice to the Goddess that everyone claimed was an Espada.

If it weren't for the mask, he would have thought the Gods had given him special blessings from the highest realm of Heaven by placing such a piece of art within his very reach. If it weren't for the fact he she wasn't human, Keigo would have been_ honoured._

But she _wasn't_ human. And he was. And Keigo promised to himself that he would be way past the phase of falling for women beyond his reach. Or more so the ones who weren't a part of his world at all.

Chuckling at himself, the teenager shook his head in defeat, eyes downcast, and decided it was time he too, went to bed.

Of course, after he spread the sheets on the floor and lay down on them, his mind refused to shut down. The day hadn't even started, yet his life had turned upside down once again within a matter of mere minutes. There were so many questions left unanswered.

Why _him?_ Why did they choose him of all people? There was Mizuiro, Tatsuki, Chizuru too... why would anyone in their right mind ask him such a favour? And at what cost? Was it really worth it? Not to mention, why had they rescued her in the first place? Weren't Espada the bad guys, the villains? What the actually _hell_ was going on? Most of all, how was he going to explain the coma patient on his bed to Mizuho in the morning?

He needed to think of a story... fast. At the same time though, he wanted his sleep _desperately_. Keigo could almost feel the sun beginning to rise, and dread pool in his abdomen.

"This is so fucked up." he mumbled before shutting his eyes.

* * *

**A/N: And the first chapter is up! It isn't particularly beta-read so I apologize for any grammatical errors. I do feel that I've portrayed Keigo a lot more mature than his character in the manga, however, that too will be explained as the story unfolds later. This is after all, a slice-of-life fic. Also, why this pairing? I really have no clue... let's just say this story was made on impulse. **

**Do R&R to let me know how you found it! **

**-SA**


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